China has never had any contact with al-Qaeda network, and certainly not military relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Kong Quan said Thursd

China has never had any contact with al-Qaeda network, and certainly not military relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Kong Quan said Thursday.

According to Xinhua, Kong was asked about a news story published by the Christian Science Monitor quoting an Afghan intelligence agent as saying that Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda was seeking air defense missiles from China, and it was possible that China was involved in supporting some al-Qaeda camps in Pakistan and making commitments to provide them with missiles.

Kong stressed that terrorism was a major threat to world peace and stability, and the Chinese government firmly opposed terrorist activities of any form. He mentioned that China itself was a victim of terrorism. According to him, there was conclusive evidence that al-Qaeda and the Taliban had, in the past, helped "East Turkistan" terrorists train personnel, and suppurted attacks in places such as China's Xinjiang and Central Asia. (Albawaba.com)